On holding a meeting of the board in the Department of Archives and Records Management of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus

On June 24, 2024, a meeting of the board of the Department for Archives and Records Management of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus (hereinafter referred to as the Department) was held.

At the meeting of the board the following issues were considered:

1. On the experience of digitizing documents in the state archives of the Republic of Belarus.
2. On cooperation with third-party organizations in the implementation of joint projects in the field of using documents at the regional level.
3. About working with youth

On the first item on the agenda, a report was made by the Deputy Head of the Office, Formation and Preservation Department of the National Archival Fund of the Department Anna Vladimirovna Kochetkova, who noted that the creation of digital copies of archival documents is part of a set of tasks to ensure the safety of documents of the National Archival Fund of the Republic of Belarus. State archival institutions are fulfilling, on an accrual basis, the target and main indicators «creation of electronic case pages» and «digitization of files» of the «Archives of Belarus» subprogram of the State Program «Culture of Belarus» and the annual approved work plans of state archival institutions. The industry plans to digitize 50% of particularly valuable cases by the end of 2030. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure the proper quality of creation and identification of digital copies of the use fund, as well as accounting, storage and use of all created digital copies of archival documents.

The co-speaker was the director of the institution «State Archives of the Gomel Region» Andrey Nikolaevich Sushchevich, who shared his experience of a systematic approach to creating digital copies of documents, which allowed the archive to ensure an increase in digitization volumes from 35 thousand (35◦084) (651 storage units) in 2022 to 50 thousand (50◦593) electronic pages (380 storage units) in 2023.

Commenting on the information presented, the director of the Department, Oleg Leonidovich Voinov instructed state archival institutions to develop work plans for the digitization of archival documents until 2030 inclusive.

On the second item on the agenda, Anna Gennadievna Karapuzova, director of the institution «State Archive of the Brest Region», made a report. The report provided examples of cooperation in the field of use of documents with various third-party organizations: government agencies, educational institutions, cultural institutions, and the media. The members of the board considered the work of the archive in this area to be satisfactory.

Deputy Director of the Department Alexey Evgenievich Tsvetkov spoke on the third issue.

A.E.Tsvetkov gave a detailed analysis of the work with youth carried out by state archival institutions. The presented statistical data indicate insufficient development of this area. In particular, in eleven state archival institutions there are no young specialists (under the age of 31); the total number of young specialists in regional and zonal archives is only 6%;

There is insufficient involvement of young workers in the implementation of ongoing projects and initiatives: the republican action «Archives for School», «Young Archivist», publishing activities, preparation and presentation of exhibition projects, preparation of articles for newspapers and magazines, interviews in the media, as well as public life institutions.

A serious discussion was sparked by the issue of organizing work among young employees of institutions to prepare specific practical proposals for the use of artificial intelligence in the archival field.

Director of the Department O.L.Voinov, summing up the meeting of the board, noted that scientific potential must necessarily be combined with practical actions, work in these areas must be systematic and planned.

1. Meeting of the Board of the Department of Archives and Records Management

2. Speaker: Deputy Head of the Department of Records Management, Formation and Preservation of the National Archival Fund of the Department Anna Vladimirovna Kochetkova

3. Deputy Director of the Department Alexey Evgenievich Tsvetkov speaks.